Nook Simple Touch e-reader drops to $79 if you use MasterCard

Until March 18, the Nook Simple Touch can be had for $79 if you use your MasterCard.
Barnes &amp; Noble

Barnes & Noble hasn't officially dropped the price of its $99 Nook Simple Touch e-reader, but you can save $20 until March 18 if you buy it with a MasterCard. The deal is available at all Barnes & Noble's stores nationwide and online at BN.com and also applies to the Nook Color, which can be had for $149.

The Nook Simple Touch is an e-ink e-reader that competes with Amazon's Kindle Touch, which starts at $99 for the ad-supported model. Both products have received Editors' Choice awards from CNET. Amazon sells the standard, non-touch-screen version of the Kindle for $79 (some people prefer that model to the Kindle Touch).

On Black Friday last year, Barnes & Noble had a very limited number of special-edition Nook Touch units available for $79, but this is the first time we've seen the product drop to $79.

Barnes & Noble is also offering a free Nook Simple Touch, or $100 off the Nook Color or Nook Tablet 8GB or 16GB models, to customers who buy a new subscription to The New York Times.

Obviously, the e-reader competition is fierce among Amazon and Barnes & Noble and we expect to see more deals like this throughout the year.